Senior Structures Engineer, Lunar

Socket.dev; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in compensation package

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Generous PTO and vacation policy

Parental leave

Job summary

Vast in Long Beach, California is seeking a Senior Structures Engineer, Lunar to help design and validate the lunar habitat structures, pressure vessels, and related hardware for our Haven-to-lunar ecosystem. You will own end-to-end development, collaborate with NASA interfaces, and drive testing and verification from concept through build, with exposure to heavy analytical and manufacturing processes.

You will be integral to establishing design standards for the lunar program, work with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in structural design of aerospace pressurized or human-rated hardware, with direct ownership from design through hardware delivery.
• 5+ years of experience with CAD and FEA software packages (NX or equivalent) and experience with GD&T implementation and analysis (ASME Y14.5).
• Demonstrated experience owning a structural hardware item end-to-end (design, build, and test), not solely in an analysis capacity.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the accountable owner (Responsible Engineer) for end-to-end lunar engineering projects such as habitation modules, airlocks, nodes, and pallets.
• Work with lunar subject matter experts and systems architects to bring lunar concepts to reality that mesh with Vast’s larger lunar ecosystem and NASA’s Moon Base architecture.
• Own the design and CAD (NX or equivalent) development of primary and secondary structures for lunar ecosystem.
• Develop understanding of static and dynamic loads, vibrations, thermal, and other environmental considerations unique to the lunar surface to drive design decisions.
• Define structural requirements, design loads, and safety margins for a human-rated pressurized structure operating in the lunar environment.
• Perform mechanical design and analysis, develop manufacturing drawings, following hardware through the entire process from concept to build.
• Lead trades and own interfaces with subsystems, including pressure vessel architecture, hatch/seal mechanisms, and material selection for lunar exposure conditions.
• Work with fabricators and technicians to improve designs, develop processes, and resolve issues.
• Define and execute test and verification plans, including structural, pressure, and hatch/seal performance testing.
• Support hardware bring-up, checkout, and anomaly resolution during build and test.
• Represent the subsystem at design reviews, coordinating with Life Support (ECLSS), Thermal, Power, and Avionics teams on interface requirements.
• Help establish design standards and practices for the Lunar program as its first structures hire.

Skills

Structural design

End-to-end ownership

CAD/FEA (NX, GD&T)

NASA/spacecraft standards

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX CAD/FEA

Femap/Nastran/Abaqus

Job description

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.

Vast is looking for a Senior Structures Engineer, Lunar, reporting to the Senior Vice President, Lunar Programs to support the development of the systems that will be required for Vast’s Lunar ecosystem. Our team is applying the technology, infrastructure, and knowledge built across our Haven Demo, Haven-1, Haven Station, and Vast Satellite programs to a new frontier: the Moon. Our Lunar program isn't starting from scratch, giving this founding team an extraordinary running start to help shape humanity's next era of lunar exploration from day one.

As one of the earliest Structures Engineers on the Lunar team, you'll play an outsized part in developing Vast’s lunar ecosystem. In this role you will have the opportunity to cover a wide range of components and systems for the Moon ranging from the primary pressure hull and lunar surface habitat structures, secondary structures and closeouts and mechanisms, to micrometeoroid shielding. You will concept, design, build, and test engineered systems that require an understanding of mechanical design, structural safety factors, welding processes, and materials engineering. The ideal candidate will be a full-ownership responsible engineer with broad knowledge that can take a product from beginning to end.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the accountable owner (Responsible Engineer) for end-to-end lunar engineering projects such as habitation modules, airlocks, nodes, and pallets.
• Work with lunar subject matter experts and systems architects to bring lunar concepts to reality that mesh with Vast’s larger lunar ecosystem and NASA’s Moon Base architecture.
• Own the design and CAD (NX or equivalent) development of primary and secondary structures for lunar ecosystem.
• Develop understanding of static and dynamic loads, vibrations, thermal, and other environmental considerations unique to the lunar surface to drive design decisions.
• Define structural requirements, design loads, and safety margins for a human-rated pressurized structure operating in the lunar environment.
• Perform mechanical design and analysis, develop manufacturing drawings, following hardware through the entire process from concept to build.
• Lead trades and own interfaces with subsystems, including pressure vessel architecture, hatch/seal mechanisms, and material selection for lunar exposure conditions.
• Work with fabricators and technicians to improve designs, develop processes, and resolve issues.
• Define and execute test and verification plans, including structural, pressure, and hatch/seal performance testing.
• Support hardware bring-up, checkout, and anomaly resolution during build and test.
• Represent the subsystem at design reviews, coordinating with Life Support (ECLSS), Thermal, Power, and Avionics teams on interface requirements.
• Help establish design standards and practices for the Lunar program as its first structures hire.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in structural design of aerospace pressurized or human-rated hardware, with direct ownership from design through hardware delivery.
• 5+ years of experience with CAD and FEA software packages (NX or equivalent) and experience with GD&T implementation and analysis (ASME Y14.5).
• Demonstrated experience owning a structural hardware item end-to-end (design, build, and test), not solely in an analysis capacity.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience working on lunar engineering programs.
• Design of structures and components for a high-performance vehicle or spacecraft.
• Experience designing pressure vessels, hatches, or airlock mechanisms for crewed spacecraft or habitats.
• Familiarity with spacecraft structural specifications such as SMC-S-016 and NASA-STD-5001.
• Analysis work in recent versions of Ansys, Femap/Nastran, or Abaqus.
• Experience leading hardware through structural verification testing (proof pressure, burst, functional seal/hatch cycling).
• Familiarity with the lunar surface or deep-space thermal, radiation, and solar environment (or equivalent extreme-environment design experience).
• Prior experience in a fast-paced commercial space or startup hardware environment, comfortable with high ownership and limited process overhead.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 5% of the time to support vendors, partnership or customer meetings.
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones.

Pay Range: California

$137,000 — $230,000 USD

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.